Of Popes and Unicorns: Science, Christianity, and How the Conflict Thesis Fooled the World

This is the story of John Draper, Andrew White, and the conflict thesis: a centuries-old misconception that religion and science are at odds with one another. Renowned scientist John William Draper (1811-1882) and celebrated historian-politician Andrew Dickson White (1832-1918) were certain that Enlightened Science and Dogmatic Christianity were mortal enemies--and they said as much to anyone who would listen.More than a century later, their grand and sweeping version of history dominates our landscape; Draper and White's "conflict thesis" is still found in countless textbooks, lecture series, movies, novels, and more.Yet, as it would later be discovered, they were mistaken.Their work has been torn to shreds by the experts, who have declared it totally at odds with reality.So how, if this is the case, does their wrongheaded narrative still live on?Who were these two men, and what, exactly, did they say?What is it about their God-versus-Science "conflict thesis" that convinced so many?